


Beware the Wolf-Orca

by Casidi_Mac



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Coitus Interruptus, Coming Out, Cultural Differences, Fear of Discovery, Government-Sanctioned Homophobia, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Hakoda says Gay Rights, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, More Like Morning-After Interruptus, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Zuko tries to say Gay Rights but no one listens, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27852582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casidi_Mac/pseuds/Casidi_Mac
Summary: Zuko woke and immediately realized what had happened. Sokka was still snuggled close to him underneath the pelts. Thank Agni he woke with the sunrise, he should still have time to get back to his ship before anyone-The flap of Sokka's tent opened with a snap.“Sokka, are you-” Hakoda stepped inside and looked straight at Zuko, modesty barely maintained beneath the pelts and lying damningly close to the Chief's son. Sokka stirred at the commotion and blearily lifted his head. “Huh? Dad?!”Zuko moved his body to block Sokka from his father's view. If one of them was to be struck, or dragged out by their hair to kneel naked in the snow in front of the whole tribe, shame on display, Zuko would rather it was himself.Hakoda walks in on his son after a night of pleasant company with the Fire Lord, his biggest question is simply why Sokka would hide something like this from him.Zuko, raised in a country where their relationship is punishable by death, deals with the fallout.
Relationships: Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 981





	1. The Southern Water Tribe

**Author's Note:**

> Some characters are outed against their wishes in this story. Even though no one actually reacts badly to the relationship, this might be triggering to some people. Take care of yourselves :*

Zuko shouldn't have let himself fall asleep. It was being with his friends again; it made him feel secure. More than he probably should. He wasn't in the Fire Nation. He had survived three assassination attempts in the last _year_ \- one more narrowly than he would like to admit. He couldn’t just let his guard down like that. 

But he was in the South Pole and he'd spent the day in a raging Snowball fight under ‘General’ Sokka against the forces of the ‘Evil Witch’ Katara and her Lemur Bat Minions (yes plural, Aang had fashioned a truly unfortunate Lemur Bat costume out of his glider and Appa's shed hair.) Zuko had won accolades as a decorated snowball war hero due to his successful infiltration behind enemy Snow Fortress walls. It had been a good day. The kind that he remembered few of in his childhood. 

They had retired to sit around the fire and listen as the Elder Members of the Tribe traded stories. Zuko would never be able to get over the incredible oral storytelling traditions of the Water Tribes. It was the kind of thing he couldn't help but imagine being stomped out by his Father's regime and how much of a tragedy that would have been, not only for the Tribes themselves, but for the whole world.

Sokka, as an official ‘man' of the tribe, always had a turn to tell a story as well, although his, while no less entertaining, were often much more heavily embellished than Zuko imagined the other Tribespeoples to be. Of course; what did he know? Maybe the older members of the tribe were just better at coming up with believable additions to the story. It didn't help that he was _there_ for a lot of Sokka's stories and knew for a _fact_ that he was exaggerating. He let Sokka tell them anyway, because he enjoyed listening to him talk so animatedly; even if he sometimes described Zuko as a giant (robot?) who breathed fire at them on their very first meeting. Zuko had been embarrassed the first few times Sokka had talked about him like that, but Sokka had always made sure to paint him in an equally flattering light by the end of the story, even though Zuko knew some of these additions went beyond embellishment into full-on falsehoods. Katara and Aang never called him out on it though, so Zuko didn't either. 

Story-telling always went long into the night; not that it took long to get dark in the South Pole this time of year (and yes, Zuko was aware there was a good month or so that the sun didn't shine at all in the South Pole but he had only visited once during this ‘Polar Darkness' and it had been as a symbol of good will. He had hated every minute of it. Not having access to his firebending was weird, but fine. Not seeing the sun for 3 days had completely messed with his system and brought to mind the design of several Fire Nation prisons. By the end of it, Katara was begging him to leave for the sake of his health.)

As story-telling began to wrap up, Zuko’s eyes were drooping with tiredness. He was sprawled out and leaning against Sokka's legs, which were wrapped in furs and incredibly soft. He was breathing slow and watching the fire slowly pulse in time with his breath. Hakoda finally stood and stretched, announcing his intention to turn in for the night and setting off a chorus of similar sentiments from other older members of the tribe.

Sokka leaned down next to his ear and whispered. “Hey, how tired are you?”

Zuko turned and leaned away to catch Sokka's expression and try and figure out if he was asking what Zuko thought he was. Sokka was waggling his eyebrows in the absolutely ridiculous way he did that told Zuko that _yes_ Sokka was indeed propositioning him.

“Not so much" Zuko lied, because _yes_ he was tired but _hell no_ he wasn't passing up one of the rare opportunities they had to indulge their teenage libidos between the demands of Zuko's duties as the Fire Lord and Sokka's responsibilities to his tribe. Sokka clasped his shoulder and quickly kissed him behind his ear as he stood, stretched, and made his way to his tent.

Zuko, as he usually did, made sure that everyone in his retinue was settled, and warm enough in their lodgings (mostly their quarters in the ship) before he ducked out of sight and snuck over to Sokka's tent. Their relationship was absolutely unacceptable in the Fire Nation – at least until Zuko managed to get that law changed, but it, unfortunately, had to be put on the back burner while he dealt with the slightly more pressing issue of bringing his country out of a hundred years’ war with the least economic destruction possible. This fact had been brought up to him many times by some of his more irritating advisors every time he so much as mentioned de-criminalizing homosexuality. – and Zuko took the utmost care to protect them. They never risked public displays of affection, and Zuko had to make sure he did not find more excuses to visit the Southern Water Tribe than any of the other nations. Zuko maintained a public relationship with Mai to throw off suspicion, even if their actual relationship had fizzled out shortly after his coronation. If Zuko had romantic rendezvous with Sokka at all, it was always under cover of darkness.

He crept around to the front of Sokka's tent and entered, removing his shoes as quietly as possible. Sokka pounced on him as soon as he'd just barely gotten the first one off.

“Sokka!” Zuko admonished as quietly as he could, although the effect was rather ruined by Zuko being unable to keep the laugh out of his voice. Sokka ignored him completely, and was already delving his hands down the front of Zuko's robe to try and attempt to undo it from the inside-out. They'd been _over_ this; Fire Nation robes didn't _work_ that way, even if they looked like they did. Also, Sokka's hands were freezing, and Zuko had to clench his jaw so he didn't yelp when Sokka’s questing hands met skin. 

“I know it's been a while, but you can wait _two more minutes._ ” Zuko growled.

“You don't know that. Maybe I ate some weird berry that's gonna stop my heart if I don't have an orgasm in the next two minutes.”

 _“What?!_ That's the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! What would be the point of that? Why would a plant need _you_ to have sex?”

“Because it cares about my well-being" Sokka joked “Unlike _somebody_ I know.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and Sokka shoved his cold face into the back of Zuko's head and started kissing down the side of his neck. Zuko had never dismantled the complicated mechanism of robes he wore so fast.

Afterwards, Zuko lazed with Sokka in his furs. Sokka had his head laid upon Zuko's chest and they just breathed together. Normally, Zuko would collect his clothes and sneak back to his quarters on the ship without making a sound. It really had been a while, though, and he was tired, so he convinced himself he could just lay there for a bit. While he enjoyed the few uninterrupted moments he had of Sokka's time, he managed to convince himself that it was okay to close his eyes, just for a little bit. The air was cold and his eyes itched from the dryness. He could barely sleep when he wanted to most of the time; surely he'd be fine to just rest his eyes. 

As mentioned earlier, he was wrong.

Zuko drifted into wakefulness and immediately realized what had happened. Sokka had moved off him in the night, but was still snuggled as close to Zuko as was humanly possible without occupying the same physical space. He had also stolen most of the furs; leaving Zuko covered only in what appeared to be a single Penguin Sea Lion pelt. _Thanks_ Zuko muttered uncharitably In his thoughts. It was fine, though, because it left Zuko the ability to extricate himself as quickly as possible. Thank Agni he woke with the sunrise, he should still have time to get back to his ship before anyone-

The flap of Sokka's tent opened with a snap. 

“Sokka, are you-” Hakoda stepped inside and looked straight at Zuko, modesty barely maintained beneath the pelt and lying damningly close to the Chief's son. Sokka stirred at the commotion and blearily lifted his head. “Huh? Dad?!”

The damage was done. Zuko tried in vain to hide Sokka with his body, but it was Sokka’s _tent_ , there wasn’t any point in pretending Hakoda hadn’t just walked in on what he'd walked in on. Hakoda mumbled something that Zuko couldn't hear over the blood rushing in his ears, and disappeared back outside. Zuko sent a stricken look at Sokka and grabbed his arm tight. _“What are we going to do?!”_

Outside the tent, Hakoda was trying to decide what to do. Did he just keep standing outside the tent until Sokka came out _-Tui and La-_ so Hakoda could talk to him, or did he just go about his business and pretend he didn't see anything? _What happened with the Kyoshi girl?_ kept running through his head on repeat. He didn't care that Sokka, apparently, liked men, - ** _and_** _girls? Probably and-_ he was just a little hurt that Sokka hadn't told him. _Why_ hadn't he told him? It was rare, but not unheard of. It was also greatly respected in their tribe. People who had two spirits -one feminine and one masculine- could look at the world with two sets of eyes. They were valued as wise-people, they were consulted on many decisions since they could see it from different perspectives. Why would Sokka… _hide_ that? And, speaking of _hiding_ , why had _Zuko?_ Hakoda saw again, in the image that would forever be scarred into his brain, Zuko uselessly attempting to block Sokka with his body when Hakoda had walked in. Why were they _hiding_ it? Why didn't they want Hakoda to know? Why did Zuko have that scared look in his eyes again, when Hakoda had just finally gotten used to _not_ seeing it whenever Hakoda walked into the same room as the Fire Lord?

A quiet -but not quiet enough- outburst of ‘What?!’ from Hakoda's Fire Nation Son _apparently in more ways than Hakoda had thought_ snapped Hakoda out of his thoughts and forced him to realize that he was, indeed, still just standing outside Sokka's tent, and that people were starting to shoot him _looks_. He took up a familiar stance he had taken many a time before, whereby he would stand outside Sokka's tent with his arms crossed waiting for his lazy son to get ready and get out of bed. Once he adopted this posture, the looks stopped. 

_Ah,_ they said with their body language _just Sokka sleeping late again, nothing to think on further._

The first few Fire Nation people started to emerge onto the deck of the ship. All this ‘rise with the sun' nonsense might work for getting a full day's work done in the balmy Fire Nation, but it left them rising unforgivably late in the harsh Polar climate. Good thing they were never here for very long.

Hakoda could hear more harried whispering rising from the tent. He shot a glance over at the Fire Nation vessel. 

“Sokka" He murmured, loud enough for his voice to carry into the tent but not out to the rest of the Tribe. “Your guest should probably get a move on, before his crew start to think he's gone _missing.”_

The whispering got faster, and was joined by the quick rustling of clothing being put on in a rush.

 _Tui and La, was he enabling his son to carry on with the_ Fire Lord? _How had his life come to this?_

Zuko and Sokka both emerged, fully dressed, and looking for all the world like they'd just shared an early morning _tea_. Hakoda quickly banished the sentence from his thoughts before ‘tea' started to take on some sinister meaning in his subconscious. Which really wouldn't do, because the way Zuko went on about it, you'd think it was the Spirits' gift to mankind.

“Ambassador" Zuko greeted Sokka formally and leaned forward slightly in a Fire Nation gesture of respect. Hakoda cast his gaze out to the horizon and prayed for serenity.  
“Chief" Hakoda was forced to look at Zuko as the Fire Lord addressed him. It still did not come naturally to him: this direct eye-contact thing.

“Sorry to have kept him" Zuko bowed to Hakoda as well, dipping further in his bow than he had with Sokka. Hakoda had learned to pay attention to these things, but, honestly, it barely registered over the fact that when Hakoda had been looking into his eyes, Zuko had looked scared, again, and Hakoda didn't even know why or how to fix it. He knew Zuko well enough by now to know his pointed apology was more than just maintaining their cover - _why did they need cover?_ – he was actually trying to apologize to Hakoda for something. Hakoda could have done without the skin show, thanks very much, but other than that, he didn't see anything Zuko might be trying to apologize for.

He did a once over of Sokka, to make sure, because a father could never be too careful, but he looked completely normal. No singes anywhere, no - _ugh_ \- no _limp_. He was totally fine.

Zuko -also no limp, so at least they were being gentle with each other _ugh, how was this his life_ -? looked like he might have a hickey he should be covering up better if they were trying to keep it secret, but other than that, they both looked completely fine.

“No problem" Hakoda answered and offered a terse nod, knowing that he couldn't execute the correct bow if he even knew what it was -and he didn't- so there was no point in trying. It wasn't like Zuko was going to berate him for bad manners anyway. _Especially not after this, not that I_ needed _ammunition on a Fire Lord that still struggles with acne._

 _And is also terrified of me._ His conscience unhelpfully tacked on, although Zuko was mostly comfortable around him now; or he had been, until this morning. Now, Zuko was the same awkwardly formal mess he had been when Hakoda had first met him at the Western Air Temple, and for almost a year after that.

Zuko turned away and took his leave, walking quickly to the deck of his ship to greet his guards who had just run up on deck and been looking frantically around for a heart-racing moment, hands clenched in a pose Hakoda was all too familiar with. 

“What happened to the Kyoshi girl?” Hakoda finally blurts, turning his head to look down at his son, although Sokka is nearly as tall as him now.

Sokka frowned at him. “We broke up, like, months ago, where were you?”

“Apparently not wherever that happened" Hakoda sniped at him. “We're going fishing" He said, not making it a question.

“Yeah, okay.” Sokka slumped, and quickly ducked back in his tent to get his water-proofed gear.

Hakoda was taking Sokka away from camp. _Hakoda was taking Sokka away from camp_. Zuko could feel his pulse racing under his skin. He couldn't stop himself looking over his shoulder towards them every second, even though all he saw was their backs moving further away from him. _From witnesses._ A scared, child-like voice said in Zuko's mind. His guards were lecturing him, again, about the dangers of going anywhere without alerting them first, _even in a tiny village like this_. They were saying. _I know you're friends with members of the tribe but you can't be too careful, My Lord._ Zuko could not care less because _Hakoda was taking Sokka away from camp_. They had just turned a corner around an ice floe, where Zuko knew the boats were stored, and Zuko could no longer see them.

 _Fishing accident._ They would say. 

_Tragic._ They would say.

 _Poor Hakoda._ They would say

_Poor Hakoda…._

Zuko caught himself spiraling and inhaled deeply. _Hakoda loves his children._ Zuko reminded himself. _He's not Ozai._ Hakoda and Zuko had spoken, a few times, about Zuko's reaction to him. Hakoda was calm, endlessly patient, and always reminded Zuko more of his uncle than he ever did of his father, but his sheer physicality still threw Zuko for a loop sometimes. Hakoda was still a man in his fighting prime; a giant who towered over everyone else in Peace Meetings. He had assured Zuko that he would never _ever_ harm his children, no matter what they did. He had raged silently when Zuko had confessed that his father _would_ and _did_. The quiet anger had scared Zuko more than anything else Hakoda had ever said or done. Ozai did not yell when he was angry; yelling was unseemly for royalty. Ozai did not speak at all when he was angry. He let the fire speak for him as it raged in front of the dais, if he did speak it was quiet, and calm, and so absolutely _sure_ in its conviction. It was often hard to tell when he was in a bad mood, so it was safer to assume he always was. Hakoda being quiet when he was angry had terrified Zuko, because if that was a man when he was angry how could you _know_ when you'd stepped out of line?

Hakoda had been calm and quiet this morning. Was he so furious that he could not speak, or was he just as fine as he'd outwardly appeared? If Hakoda had shouted, Zuko thinks he might have felt better about him taking Sokka out of sight. Hakoda yelling was Hakoda _annoyed_. Hakoda annoyed would have a terse conversation with the source of his annoyance until they sorted it out, or, rarely, explode at them where no one else could see or hear, so as not to embarrass them. Zuko could deal with Hakoda annoyed. Hakoda annoyed wasn’t a real threat; just a man who was at the end of his patience, as all men are sometimes. Hakoda annoyed, at his worst, was just going to take Sokka out to the docks and yell at him, leaving Sokka angry, embarrassed and ashamed, but _uninjured_ and _alive_.

Zuko did not know what Hakoda did when he was _furious_. He imagined a wartime leader and veteran sailor was capable of great violence if the situation called for it. Zuko did not know what that situation was and _Hakoda was taking Sokka away from camp_.

They had paddled themselves a good distance off shore and set their lines when Hakoda finally spoke. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I'm sorry.” Sokka sighed. “It's, I mean, we've been ‘together' sort of, for 5 months, but it's been, you know. We haven't actually seen a lot of each other for most of it.”

“So, it's a pretty new thing?” Hakoda clarified. “Didn't want to talk about it yet?”

“Partly" Sokka admitted, untangling fishing line to occupy his hands while Hakoda watched the rods.

Hakoda waited.

“I don't want to be a Shaman." 

“You don't want to be a Shaman? _That's_ why you didn't tell me?” Hakoda wanted to dunk his son's head in ice water. He wanted to dunk his _own_ head in ice water.

“I know being with Zuko means I'm like ‘blessed' or something, but I'm a _warrior_. I want to be a warrior; I don’t want to sit in a tent throwing weird moss on a fire and answering everyone's questions.” Sokka complained.

Hakoda resisted the urge to point out that that wasn't what Shamans did, because he knew that Sokka knew and was just being difficult to emphasize his point.

“Sokka, you don't have to be Shaman. No one is going to _make_ you.” Hakoda managed to keep the exasperation out of his voice solely by merit of the fact that he could imagine how miserable Sokka would be in a traditional role as a wise-person.

“No one is going to _want_ your lousy advice anyway" Hakoda joked to try and cheer his son up. Sokka kicked at him playfully. 

“But what is everyone going to say when they find out?” Sokka's voice cracked, as it often did these days, but it served Hakoda a cold reminder that Sokka was still _young_ ; an adult, by their tribe's standards, but still not even fully grown.

“I'm not sure, son, but you're a warrior of this tribe, and no one is going to take that away from you. I promise.”

“Thanks, Dad" 

They sat silently fishing for a while, before Sokka suddenly swore.

“What?” Hakoda asked, looking over at the fishing line to see if it was hopelessly tangled, or Sokka had broke it.

 _“Zuko"_ Sokka said, as if it were an answer.

Hakoda furrowed his brow and looked around for his son's friend, _boyfriend? Lover? Ugh, no_. As if he'd somehow just _turned up_ in the middle of the ocean. And Honestly? Not that far-fetched after everything Hakoda had seen that kid do.

“He's gonna think you took me out here to kill me and dump my body.” Sokka exclaimed in horror.

“Ki- you- he what?!”

“It's illegal in the Fire Nation" Sokka explained quickly, and Hakoda wasn't sure why he hadn't offered _that_ up as an explanation before ‘I don't want to be a Shaman'; sometimes, this kid. “It's punishable by exile or death.”

“By death?” Hakoda parroted. “Wha- but, why? It's just… why would that even matter? Who cares?”

Hakoda wasn't an idiot. He knew the Earth Kingdom did not place as much reverence on two-spirited people as the Tribes did. There were just be too many people for it to be worth commenting upon, especially in cities like Ba Sing Se. He had assumed the massively overpopulated Fire Nation would be similar; not really caring one way or another. Why would _anyone_ be mad enough at people for loving someone of the same sex to want to _kill_ them for it? Why did that law exist? Why did it _still_ exist if Zuko-?

“I don't know" Sokka gestured wildly, rocking the canoe slightly. “His great-grandpa was crazy! Probably him.”

“If he could get _killed_ for it, what was he doing sleeping in your tent?!” Hakoda lost control of his volume a little, suddenly imagining Zuko alone on the deck of his ship, being forced to his knees by his own guards and arrested because they hadn't been _careful_ enough.

“He fell asleep!” Sokka lost control of his volume a _lot_ , and Hakoda was glad there was no way their voices were carrying back to camp. “He's only human!”

“Why didn't _you_ make sure he _got home safe?_ ” Hakoda's words were clipped, he yanked on one of the fishing rods to recast it in order to give his hands something to do.

“Why am _I_ suddenly the bad guy here? It’s _his_ crazy country that wants him dead!” 

Hakoda stopped, took in a breath, released it. Zuko was a capable man, and Aang and Katara were still at camp and unlikely to let him go down without a fight. If he _was_ in any trouble, and he had any self-preservation instincts _at all_ , he would be fine “Why hasn't he changed the law?”

“He's trying, but they won't let him. They keep making him put it off, and all the while, he's still playing ‘royal palace' with Mai to keep them from getting suspicious.” Sokka explained, calming down in response to his father doing the same.

Hakoda frowned. Tui and La, couldn't _anything_ be easy for that kid?

“Are _you_ in any danger?” Hakoda made himself ask, because he needed to know, even if the answer scared him.

“I don't think so.” Sokka said, and Hakoda felt relief wash over him so quickly he was dizzy. “Not under the new laws he _has_ put in place. I'm Water Tribe, so I have to be tried under Water Tribe Law, and it's fine here, so it wouldn't matter. The only potential risk is if we were…. Uh.. _caught_ at the Palace and they refused to extradite.”

Hakoda felt tension zap through him again, pulling his muscles taut and seizing his lungs. “Do _not_ get _caught_ at the palace.” Hakoda put the same emphasis on ‘caught' that Sokka had, hoping to avoid saying it out loud as much as Sokka did.

Hakoda gestured pointedly with the fishing rod at Sokka. “Tell Zuko he's always welcome at the Southern Water tribe" Hakoda cast the line. “But that he should maybe learn to wake up _before_ sunrise in the Fall.”

“Right.” Sokka poured all his attention into fishing line that was already untangled, so Hakoda threw one of the broken nets at him instead.

They sat silently in the Canoe for some time, Sokka fixing the net and Hakoda watching the troll lines before Hakoda asked “How long, do you think, before he stages a rescue attempt on your behalf?”

“Shit!” 

They'd been gone for _hours_. If Hakoda was just yelling at Sokka, they'd be _done_ by now. So either Hakoda had actually taken Sokka fishing, or he'd taken Sokka _fishing_. Zuko had never thought he would be this invested in whether or not someone was currently catching fish in his _life_. He couldn't focus on anything. His crew was steering clear of him, Aang had floated by at one point with a concerned look on his face, but when Zuko hadn't told him what was bothering him, Aang had just assigned him to Appa grooming duties for today. Zuko was a little thankful for it, honestly. The brushing motion was rhythmic, soothing, and required little concentration. Appa was also soft, and warm, like - _Sokka's leg warmers against Zuko's back while they sat around the fire. – The furs they slept on last night._ Agni, were these going to be his last memories of Sokka? 

_No_. An older, calmer, Zuko chided in his mind. _Hakoda isn't going to hurt Sokka. He promised he never would and that_ means _something here_. 

“They're probably just fishing”. Zuko muttered under his breath like it was a mantra while he brushed the endlessly shedding Sky Bison.

He didn't know how long he was doing that for, before a voice broke through his haze.

“Who’s probably just fishing?” Katara was standing in front of him, purposefully standing directly in his eyeline so he would notice her.

“Sokka and Hakoda" Zuko managed to answer, voice raspy from overuse, but otherwise normal. 

“They went fishing this time of year?” Katara squints at the sky. “That's odd, they're not likely to catch anything.”

Zuko, who had not really calmed down, but had at least been occupied enough not to spiral any further suddenly felt his throat closing, and found himself struggling to breathe the cold, dry, arctic air.

“Aang!” He shouted at the Airbender halfway across camp. “I need to borrow Appa!”

Aang flew over quickly, his face drawn in concern. “Sure thing, do you… want me to come?”

Zuko imagined a lone canoe holding only one occupant, perhaps a body laid out on an ice floe or floating in the freezing water. 

“No.” He growled, mounting the Sky Bison. 

“yip yip" it sounded like a threat in his voice. Appa groaned, slapped his tail and floated into the sky.

“Fire Lord Zuko!” his guards were yelling at him from the ground, one right after the other. He barely registered their voices. 

He directed Appa towards Sokka's last known location.

 _The docks_ Zuko tried to reassure himself. _Hakoda took him to the docks to go_ fishing. 

_‘That's odd.’_ She'd said _‘They're not likely to catch anything.’_ She'd said.

If they're not fishing, then _why go to the docks?_

“HEY JERKBENDER!” Sokka could _yell_ when he wanted to. Zuko pulled Appa to a stop and leaned dangerously far over the side of the bison to see Sokka and Hakoda _on the docks_. Hakoda was waxing a Canoe that was slowly dripping sea water onto the ice. They had no fish. Zuko felt like an absolute moron. 

_Of course he's fine, what were you_ thinking? _And what would you have done anyway? Firebent at the Chief of the Southern Water tribe to avenge the death of your secret boyfriend? This is why you’re not the plan guy._

Zuko flew Appa down to land behind the outcropping that hid the docks from view of the village. He leapt off the Sky Bison's back earlier than was probably wise, landing unsteadily and using his extra momentum from the fall to propel himself forward.

“Sokka!” He crashed into him, nearly taking them both out when he threw his arms around Sokka's shoulders in pure relief. They were out of sight behind this outcropping, but Zuko didn't think he could have held back even if they _weren't_. Zuko continued berating himself internally for thinking the worst of Hakoda, _again_ , after everything the man had done for him, and seemed prepared to do for his own children. The hug continued a bit too long, and Hakoda loudly cleared his throat from where he was putting away the canoe. Zuko let go of Sokka and turned sheepishly to face Hakoda. He was embarrassed at all the horrible things he'd imagined Hakoda doing to Sokka when he should _know better_.

Hakoda rolled his eyes hard when Zuko turned to face him, as if he knew exactly what Zuko had been thinking while they were gone. “You owe me 5 pieces" Hakoda sniped at Sokka. Zuko turned to catch Sokka rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

“Everything is fine, Zuko.” Sokka said, not quite meeting his eyes. “Dad just wanted to talk, away from everyone else.”

“Right, I knew that.” Zuko tried in vain to save face, as if he hadn't just commandeered the Avatar's bison and completely abandoned his own guards in order to try and track them down in the middle of the ocean, where _they_ grew up. 

Zuko turned to face Hakoda, who had finally stood up after replacing the canoe where they’d got it from, and Zuko placed his hands into a formal apology bow, but he could not think of what he should say. “Uhh,” he managed. He wasn't really sorry that they'd done it. He _was_ a little sorry he'd got caught, but he doubted very much that Hakoda would want to hear that. He was very sorry for how badly he'd over-reacted to Hakoda taking Sokka out fishing, but most of that had happened in his head, so there was no way for Hakoda to even know he had thought it.

Hakoda held up a hand to forestall whatever apology Zuko was going to come up with – which was probably a good thing- and placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. 

“Listen to me:”

Zuko nodded, unable to do anything else, trying to remember to breathe while his pulse kicked into overdrive again.

“Sokka told me about the laws in your country and how dangerous this is for both of you. So, I have to beg you to _please, be careful_.” Hakoda began and Zuko took a stuttering inhale of cold dry air and felt his eyes starting to burn. _Come on, he's barely said anything._

“And make sure that however careful _you_ are that Sokka is doubly careful.” Hakoda continued. “Until you can get that figured out, know that you have a place at my table and in my home, _always_ , no matter what.”

Zuko had to blink very quickly to try and distribute the moisture in his good eye enough that he didn't cry in front of the Chief.

“And, I think you should know; it's not like that everywhere. I know you've traveled, so you've probably seen it, but here, it's considered a very great fortune to have a child like either of you, and elsewhere, it isn't even worth a second glance. Sokka has made his wishes known in regards to how we deal with our tribe, so you don't need to worry about it. You have my full support, whatever that's good for.”

“Thank you.” Zuko had a lot of practice speaking through his emotions, but did have to swipe angrily at his face before he embarrassed himself. “That actually really means a lot.” Zuko paused, furrowed his brow, looked at Sokka as if he was going to ask something, then shook his head a little and turned back to Hakoda to offer the appropriate bow for a parent of someone you were courting, not that either Hakoda or Sokka would recognize it. 

He was just coming out of the bow when he heard a cry behind him of “My Lord!”

He fervently hoped his guards -who absolutely would recognize the significance of the bow he'd just performed- had not turned the corner in time to catch him.

“My Lord!” One of them was panting as Zuko turned to face them. “What- what were you _doing?_ ” Min dropped the formality in her outrage.

“Sorry" Zuko performed an apology bow “I thought- I thought I saw… something. A, uh, a wolf-orca. They can be dangerous this close to the ice; I was worried for my friend's safety.”

“Oh yeah!” Sokka jumped in on what Zuko was sure was a _terrible_ lie. “They'll full-on jump out of the water if they're hungry enough, and they're migrating through here at this time of year!”

Was that… was that _true?_ Zuko could not tell. If it was a lie, it was a better one than Sokka usually came up with.

“They _jump_ out of the _water?_ ” Min began frantically examining the frigid waters surrounding them.

“But it's okay" Zuko tried to assure her. “It was a false alarm; it was just a….” Zuko shot a frantic look at Sokka that he hoped was subtle enough. Zuko only knew about Wolf-Orcas because Sokka had said he wanted a tattoo of one, any other South Pole Wildlife was firmly out of his sphere of knowledge. Zuko wasn't even sure if Wolf-Orcas were real or some kind of character from Water Tribe stories.

“Beluga-shark" Sokka added. “Similar size, but only eats fish. Nothing to worry about.”

Zuko could see Hakoda pressing his lips tightly together and staring over everyone's heads. Zuko had seen him do this before, but couldn't interpret the expression.

“Oh, alright then" Min stopped gazing around, but still seemed wary of the water. “Maybe, lets head further inland anyway, My Lord" she barely remembered to tack on his title. Zuko tilted his head in acquiescence. 

“My Lord" The other guard began, as they escorted Hakoda, Sokka and Zuko back to camp, “What exactly were you planning to do if it was an… Orca-Wolf?”

“Wolf-Orca” Zuko and Sokka corrected at the same time.

“Yes, Fire Lord Zuko, what exactly was your plan? Were you going to _fight_ the… _Wolf-Orca_?” Hakoda goaded from behind Zuko, clearly enjoying himself too much.

 _“No”_ Zuko did not _whine_. “If the Wolf-Orca had _attacked your boat_ I was going to pull you out of the water before it _ate_ you.” Zuko refused to play Hakoda's game of code-words. Not because he had indeed planned to fight the ‘Wolf-Orca' but because he, as the Fire Lord, was above it.

“What if the Wolf-Orca had eaten me already?” Sokka asked, joining in his father's game and making Zuko wish slightly that he _had_ gotten eaten by a Wolf-Orca. “Would you have fought it in my honor?”

“That would be _silly_ ” Zuko bit out. “Considering the Wolf-Orca had already eaten you. Maybe I would _thank_ it instead for kindly removing one of the biggest pains in my ass for me.”

“Please, Zuko, flattery will get you no-where.” Sokka quipped and Zuko couldn't stop himself from turning bright red at Sokka's implication. Zuko could see Hakoda in the corner of his vision doing the tight-lipped-stare-out-at-nothing look again. He found he understood the sentiment a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort-of based Hakoda's reaction to Sokka on how my own mom reacted when I came out. She didn't really care that I wasn't straight, but she was kind of upset that I hadn't trusted her enough to tell her sooner. I could tell that she was upset (and so could my partner) but I didn't realize why until a while later, so it was sort of confusing.  
> Anyway; remember your parents are people with thoughts and emotions too, and if they're acting a little strange, don't be afraid to ask them why, and it might open a dialogue. (This obviously doesn't apply to every family situation; you know your family best.)


	2. Caldera City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is a short little scene between Zuko and Mai just to explore their relationship in this fic.

“Do you know what I heard, Zuko?” Mai was leaning closer to whisper in his ear. He leaned into her too, and turned his face towards her, bringing their lips inches apart. He felt the breeze on his neck where his robes did not cover, as he broke out in a cold sweat. He _hated_ this. It wasn't fair to Mai, who should be free to pursue someone else who sparked her interest instead of being stuck making kissy faces at the man who'd dumped her, and it wasn't fair to Sokka, who, more than once, had been forced to watch the man _he_ was with publicly courting someone else. 

“Mm?” he asked, glancing up into her eyes. He really genuinely _liked_ Mai, she was a good friend and a strong ally to have, when it seemed like everyone else was against him. They could have been happy, he thinks, in another life, just not this one; where he thirsted too much for a passion that she just couldn't give to him, and he could not offer her the devotion to the exclusion of all else that she deserved.

“I heard you're _cheating_ on me.” 

He can feel the sharp tip of a knife pressing into his stomach, just above his belt. Zuko allowed his eyes to go wide in shock at the news. The servants behind them shifted nervously.

“You- you did?” Who knew? Who had told her? How much danger were he and Sokka in? How did they find out?

“With a Water-Tribe _peasant._ ” She spat the word at him, pushing her blade harder against him, but never even coming close to breaking the fabric.

Zuko poured all his concentration into not lighting his fists on fire in his panic. His hands were on the table; everyone would see.

“Who did you hear that from? It's just a rumor. You know that I wouldn't.” He had to do damage control; nip rumors in the bud before they got out of hand.

“You sure as Hell won't if I cut your limp dick off!” She was hissing at him. Okay, that was a bit much, and he wasn't even sure why she'd decided to tell him in public. To confuse the servants? Kitchen servants were the biggest gossips, if Mai could get them telling the _right_ story, it might curb the damage of the true story. He _hated_ this. He hated lying to his people. He hated this stupid law and he hated the stupid Sages for not letting him change it. He was also not thrilled with Mai for springing this scene on him, without telling him first, but he supposed he understood that. He was a _terrible_ liar and if she needed him to look shocked and scared right now, then she was getting it.

“I heard it from your guards who went with you to the frozen ass of the World. They said they saw you bowing to the Chief like he was your father-in-law.”

Zuko had to think quickly, Mai twisted the blade and it became truly uncomfortable for the first time since she had pulled it out of her sleeve.

“You know Chief Hakoda treats me as a son. I… I consider him a bit of a father, too. But he's _not_ my father so how else should I be bowing to him?”

Mai retracted the knife into her sleeve and sat back, stiffly, facing forward again. “Whatever" She said “If it's true, I’ll just let the Avatar do my dirty work for me" she spat, and Zuko had to stop himself from reeling at the proclamation. 

“Since it's _his_ girl you're muscling in on.” Mai finished with a smirk. Zuko rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to slam his head on the table. Mai was trolling him because she thought it was _funny_. Making him think he was caught out, when in reality people thought he was making moves on Katara. Encouraging this rumor actually benefitted him. If people thought he was interested in Katara, it would help explain away any evidence that he was actually interested in her brother. _That_ was why Mai had been fueling the gossip flames with her stunning performance over being angry about him cheating on her. Sowing seeds of distrust between themselves would also help them to organically stage a final break up that would free her to pursue someone else. 

“I have no interest in Master Katara.” Zuko growled, and turned back to his own meal. “My guards have clearly been watching too many Ember Island Players performances.”

“You scared the hell out of me.” He mumbled to her, fully under his breath and barely moving his lips to deter eavesdroppers.

“Aw, can't a girl have a little fun around here?” She whispered back, putting on an air of innocence. “Maybe you should get better at _covering up your Agni-fried hickeys_ if you don't want me pointing knives at you?” this second part made up for it with the venom she spat with it.

“I don't have a-" Zuko couldn't stop his startled outcry, although he kept the volume low enough not to call too much attention to their conversation. “Oh, from before, right.”

He dropped back to the lipless murmur. “Some stuff happened; it won't happen again.”

Mai let out a weary sigh that Zuko could barely hear. 

“I'm so sorry-"

“Stop apologizing” Mai snapped “If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't be. I want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy too, I'm sorry I can't do that for you.”

“Oh, you'll get your turn.” Mai promised, and Zuko knew it for the threat it was. “And when you do, you better bet I'm going to make the _most_ of it.”

He took a drink to hide his smile. He'd gladly worship at Mai's feet if she asked him to. Whenever she found someone she wanted, he was going to be the best fucking wingman ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks in advance for any comments and kudos. I won't read or respond to any comments, since they only stress me out.


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